Drumroll Please…✍🏾️📖🏆

Remember that contest I told you all about? Well, I won! Initially, I was nervous sitting there listening to all the rules and stipulations about rubrics. When Chris Coward, the president of the Florida Writers Association read my name, I couldn’t believe I’d actually won first place for creative nonfiction.

“The Transition” is the story of how I shifted from bitterness to compassion for my father, while he shifted from life to death due to his cancer diagnosis.

I want to share it here, but cannot because I’ve submitted it for The Binge-Watching Cure, a paid book publication.

Instead of posting it, I want to tell you something I find odd.

In 1983, my mother had a kidney transplant. Consequently, at ten years old, I wrote a book called On the Farm. It was the story of a little boy whose dad had died. The boy had to learn how to take care of the farm and his family. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Patterson submitted it for a citywide competition, sponsored by Gwendolyn Brooks. Remember, I grew up in Chicago so this was a huge deal. My grandmother and I dressed up in church attire and attended. My mother was still in Madison, Wisconsin recovering from her transplant. I didn’t win. But 33 years later, I find it quite strange that I won a competition for a story I wrote about losing my own father.

Today, everything is still surreal. However, if I can say anything to all of you who read my words, it is this: Carpe Diem! That was the 2016 Florida Writers Association’s theme. Seize the Day! Do what you want! Live life and experience it however you see fit. And have faith that everything is working out for your highest good.

Congratulations. I find it even more amazing that you entered a competition sponsored by Gwendolyn Brooks, some people are so amazing that I sometimes think that they are a legend, bigger than life. I am so happy for your achievement and i wish you many more blessings to come

I am beyond impressed! Go, KE! It is one of my goals to write a memoir, and the soul-baring honesty of it scares me to death. Congrats for putting yourself out there and having the courage to submit. Well-deserved. 🙂

Kathy, my friend, you are on quite the writing accomplishment roll right now. I am so thrilled for you. Fill up your heart and confidence with your award and book publication, and revel! I start your book tonight!

Congratulations, Kathy!! 😀😃 This is fantastic and I’m so happy for your – some competitions are definitely worth going for, as you have proved here and this is a big competition. The moments before the announcement must have been nerve-wrecking and then I imagine disbelief afterwards. Well done!! The title is perfect and spooky about the similarities with your other win as young. Have fun celebrating!😀

Thanks Annika! The anticipation nearly killed me. It’s like you wanna win but you wanna prepare in case you’ve lost lol like I didn’t wanna break down at the table of strangers 😉 thanks for your words here!

I can feel your excitement at your amazing achievement. I am excited for you too not only because you are an amazing writer, but because I think you have come so far. It can’t have been easy for you to write about such a personal relationship. I feel as if you have not only won the prize for your writing, but you have been awarded for moving from bitterness to compassion. That can’t have been easy thing to do. A double achievement-well done!

Omgosh Marie! I’m glad you can feel it through this screen and thousands of miles away cause you could’ve knocked me over with a feather that night. Also, yes, yes and yes to personal growth. I was thinking this AM that while I’d much rather have my parents here with me than an award, that’s just not the journey. I have peace and I’m happy to share that road with everyone.

You know, I think Kathy, that self-growth and hardship are indelibly linked. One is definitely a product of the other: amazing lessons are learned through soul pain. You couldn’t have shared your journey of enlightenment without suffering. Isn’t that how life’s lessons are learned?

On one hand, I agree. On the other hand, I think “hardship” is also made up in the mind and based on what we’ve decided a “hardship” is. So I’ve started to understand that we don’t have to suffer. We create the concept of “suffering” and all of the stuff that comes with it, like hardship. But I suppose I wouldn’t have learned that has I not gone through “hardships” lol hope this makes some semblance of sense

I do like your perception of hardship Kathy, although I’m sorry I do not agree with you. You don’t only gain enlightenment from hardships, good and wonderful things can be an avenue to these too. That said, I can think of tremendous suffering (domestic and child abuse to touch on two) now that has happened in my life, in other people’s lives and in the world as a whole. I don’t for one minute see this as created “suffering”. I am pleased for you though that you can look at whatever hardships you have suffered in this way. I hope we’re still friends? :))

Congratulations!!! I subscribe to the Florida Writer’s Association newsletter and saw the an email this morning that said they’d had a 22 percent increase over last year and almost 500 entries. But I didn’t look at read the winners. I didn’t think I knew any of the entrants. Then I scrolled up and saw your email notification that you’d won. Wow!! Congratulations!!! I remember reading a blog entry that talked about you going to your dad’s funeral. I enjoyed reading it. Was that the entry?